Pins and Needles
by Small White Wave
Summary: Tom Riddle 16 year old memory makes a reappearance in Harry’s life. Only Harry can see him. Draco notices Harry odd behaviour and sets out to spy on him.
1. He's back

Title: Pins and Needles  
  
Summery: Tom Riddle 16 year old memory makes a reappearance in Harry's life. Only Harry can see him. Draco notices Harry odd behaviour and sets out to spy on him.  
  
Notes: I've got a sketchy plan about this story. I know the key players will be Harry, Draco and the young Tom Riddle. Naturally Ron and Hermione will be worried about their friend as well, but Draco will figure it out before they do (he is a sly slytherin after all). This will however be a SLASH STORY I have yet to decide if it should turn out as a HP/DM story or a HP/TR? What do you guys want? I suppose I can make it HP/DM/TR story but somehow I don't really see Draco or Voldemort being the sharing kind.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Harry Potter and I have nowhere near enough money to buy them, sadly. This was probably obvious but I figured I'd mention it just in case.  
  
^o^  
  
HE'S BACK.  
  
Harry woke with a jerk. He tried to pull in lung fulls of oxygen, noticing his throat felt raw. Most likely a side effect from screaming through tonight's nightmare. Although he was still quite groggy and the pain from his scar was searing, he knew instantly something was a miss. He could feel eyes upon him.  
  
At first he passed it off as one of his dorm mates. He probably forgot to cast the silencing spell over his bed and had woken them with his screams. He could hardly make out the shape in the dark, and tried squinting, but even if he could have seen without his glasses, his eyes haven't had enough time to adjust to the darkness yet.  
  
He instinctively reached out to his bedside table, moving aside, his curtains long enough to retrieve his glasses and wand. He turned back to the silent figure that was patiently just sitting on the edge of Harry's bed waiting for him to get comfortable.  
  
"Lumos," Harry whispered his voice still hoarse. His wand lit up revealing who it was, but as soon as he saw who, he panicked. "Stupefy!" he yelled right after. The second spell caused the first to go out, surrounding the bed in darkness once again, not allowing Harry to see if his spell hit its target.  
  
"That's not going to help you," a calm voice answered the silent question.  
  
"I'll scream," Harry warned. Even if his voice was still raw from a week of non stop nightmares, and he had a pretty effective silencing charm still covering his bed, he was repaired to scream bloody murder if he had to.  
  
"They'll just think you're mad, or that you're lacking sleep," The voice continued, still as calm, which angered Harry about as much as it unnerved him.  
  
"What do you mean?" Harry demanded. He kept a close eye on the outline of the boy, he gripped his wand tightly, prepared to try another spell if need be.  
  
"They can't see me," The voice stated as if this should have been obvious.  
  
"What do you mean?" Harry asked again.  
  
"I mean, that in my current state, only you can see me. If you try to tell your friend I'm here, they won't see anyone and assume that you've finally went bonkers." Harry could swear he heard the smirk even if he couldn't see it.  
  
"Lumos," Harry said again. Although he would rather not have to look at him, it was wiser if he could see any attempted attacks. "Didn't I destroy you?"  
  
"Well you certainly tried to, almost succeed. But you of all people should know I'm not that easy to get rid of." And yes, Harry did know first hand just how hard the bastard was to kill. Of course, said bastard probably thought the same way about him.  
  
"So what do you want? Came here to try your hand at revenge? I'll probably just kick your arse. again," Harry gave him a Snapeish sneer.  
  
"Even if I wanted revenge, I could not yet carry it out. I'm still weak."  
  
"So what the hell do you want from me? Why shouldn't I just blow you away right now." Harry asked.  
  
"You're welcome to try," the boy offered. Harry studied him a moment. He couldn't quite understand why a sixteen year old version of Tom Riddle would not only come to dorm in the middle of the night, and willing offer Harry a chance to curse him. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion but pointed his wand at the boy.  
  
"Stupefy!" he tried again. The light from his wand once again went out, but he was sure his spell had hit its target this time. There was no way Voldemort could have moved away in time.  
  
"Lumos," Harry wouldn't help but gap when the smiling face Tom Riddle appeared before him once again. "How- what?"  
  
"I told you, I'm not strong enough yet. I'm still just a memory."  
  
"So. You're the sixteen year old you? Not the older snake version that somehow got his looks back?" Harry asked, not sure why this made him feel better. He was still Voldemort after all. "How can you come back? I destroyed the journal-"  
  
"Yes, that was a good idea. But I had taken extra measures, as I always do. When you destroyed the book, I lost all the power I had gained. I had to release Ginny and in so doing, I became weak once again. Even weaker than I was before. I was still alive but barely just. For the last few years, I have been able to grab a hold of other's powers, enough to give me strength but not enough to be able to hold on to one of them for long. Little by little I have managed to grow stronger. I had planed that when I was strong enough, I'd come back for you get my revenge. But I've grown impatient. I just had to see you now." Tom explained.  
  
"Gee, don't I feel special," Harry mutter sarcastically.  
  
"You should. I'll grow into my full power again, thanks to you. You see, I've chosen you to help me do it," Tom said.  
  
"What makes you think I'd help you?" Harry asked angrily. There was no way he was going to help one of his biggest enemies.  
  
"What makes you think I'll give you a choice?" Tom asked back, still smirking at the boy. Harry sent him a glare but he ignored it.  
  
"Why me?" Harry all but hiss out at him.  
  
"That should be obvious. I've told you already before, you're my new obsession." Tom smiled what would have been a charming smile, but it was lost on Harry.  
  
"What?" Harry asked, slightly confused. He remembered Tom Riddle telling him that he no longer cared about killing the muggle-borns in Hogwarts, but that was only because he was intrigued that baby could defeat him future powerful self.  
  
"You still look the same as the last time I saw you," Tom went on, not bothering to answer his questions, "a little older obviously, but mostly the same." He leaned out a hand to touch Harry's face. Before Harry would back away, he felt Tom's hand against him. Only it was a flesh on flesh sensation that greeted him. It was the same pins and needles feeling he got when one of the ghosts went through him.  
  
"I should go now, my strength is weakening already. But don't worry my pet. I shall see you again soon." Tom said. He moved off the bed and out of the curtains. Harry made to go after him, to either find a way to attack or maybe ask more questions, but as he pulled away the curtains, he was greeted with an empty dorm room. Well empty aside from his sleeping dorm mates.  
  
Neville's snores reached his ears; a squeak from the mattress of Dean's bed sounded as he rolled over in his sleep. All seemed normal. Harry sat back against his headboard. He thought over what had just happened. It was real, he was sure of that. Memories of his second year came flooding back to him. He tried to recall every detail about what happened in the chamber of secrets. He looked like the same Tom Riddle that Harry had met then. Harry pondered this as long as he could before sleep eventually over took him. 


	2. Need Help?

Ch.2- Need help?  
  
Harry was too tired to do this. Maybe he could have handled his friend's worried glances at him and their continual pestering of "Are you alright?" He was probably even prepared for dealing with Malfoy who was all too happy to inform Harry that he looked like shit (well you would too if you haven't had a decent night's sleep in almost over a week); but when you threw in double potions with Snape and the Slytherins, that was asking too much.  
  
The moment Snape laid eyes on Harry he knew there was something wrong with the boy. So he did the most Snapeish thing he could think of; pop quiz! And being Snape it would end up being more like an exam than a quiz.  
  
It seemed like Hermione and Draco were the only ones who didn't mind this new turn of events. Hermione because she seemed to know everything already and was always up for a challenge; Draco because he excelled at Potions and even if he didn't Snape would let him off easy since he was teacher's pet. As for the rest of the class, no one was prepared, but they didn't voice their objections too loudly.  
  
As Harry had believed, Snape "quiz" would be most difficult. He would spend the first portion of the class, writing down questions. Everyone would answer them and after the given amount of time was up, Snape would randomly pick students to answer the questions. If you got your question wrong, you'd have to write a 10 inch essay on the topic of the question and why you were such an imbecile that you couldn't answer it write in the first place.  
  
After that was done, each group of students (randomly paired) would get an assigned potion to brew. Once again, if you failed to do so correctly, you'd have to write another essay on the proper procedure and what you did wrong.  
  
The class pulled out their parchment and got to work copying done the questions. For the first five minutes, Harry just stared at his paper; he could maybe guess about 5 of the 20 questions. Snape was sure to call on him for the hardest question there was and he'd be stuck with an essay to write.  
  
"Need help with that?" A voice whispered in his right ear, causing Harry to jump.  
  
"What?" Harry hissed.  
  
"I'm pretty good at potions," bragged Tom.  
  
"Is there a problem, Mister Potter?" Snape asked. He had noticed when Harry jumped three feet in the air. Now the boy was giving him the most peculiar look, and continuously glancing to his right.  
  
"They can't see me, remember?" Tom said, as if to prove his point, he walked up to the professor and started waving his arms. Snape didn't even blink; his eyes were glued to Harry.  
  
"N-no professor. I'm fine," Harry answered. Snape watched him for a moment before returning to his work. He figured, with a smile, that the questions were just to advanced for the boy's capabilities.  
  
"So do you want some help?" Tom offered again. Harry bit his lip but nodded his head in agreement. Tom walked back over to Harry's side and looked down at the paper. He started dictating the answers, as Harry scribbled them down. Harry was a bit unsure if he could trust Tom, for all he knew the boy could be giving him the wrong answers and Harry would end up making a fool out of himself. But they sounded right enough, and Harry wouldn't honestly think of any better guesses for the ones he didn't know.  
  
When the time was up and Snape called for the quills to be put down, Tom had helped Harry answer all his questions, and even corrected one that Harry had made a mistake on. Snape started calling on student to answer the questions. Hermione got her right of course, Ron and Seamus weren't so lucky. Dean had managed to get by okay but only because Snape had asked him to answer one of the questions that they had studied yesterday and it was still fresh in his mind. Crabbe and Goyle obviously got stuck with essays but the rest of the Slytherins seemed to do okay.  
  
"Correct Mr. Malfoy, 10 points to Slytherin for answering a most difficult question."  
  
Harry would almost hear Ron's mental grumbling of 'Difficult my arse. Even *I* knew that one!' and smiled to himself.  
  
"Why is it imperative that Unicorn hair and snake venom never be mixed together until the crucial moment at the end of brewing a substance altering potion, Mister Potter?"  
  
Harry bit his bottom lip again and glanced down at his paper. He located his (Tom's) answer and read it out loud. "If they're mixed together before the time that they have to be added into the potion, they'll effect each other. The snake venom will taint the unicorn hair, and the unicorn hair will absorb the magical properties of the snake venom. When added into the potion after this effect, it'll either cause for a massive explosion or it'll quickly solidify, depending on which you have more of."  
  
When Harry glanced up, he noticed that most of the class was gapping at him, clearly not expecting him to have been able to answer that. He shot a worried glance at Snape and noticed the man glaring at him.  
  
"Who helped you Mister Potter?" Snape accused.  
  
"What?"  
  
"May I see you paper?" Harry silently handed over his quiz. He couldn't know, could he? It's not like he could prove it. They may be at Hogwarts and in the magical world, but if Harry said that he had a new imaginary friend, he'd be laughed at.  
  
"Miss Granger. you haven't be helping Mister Potter have you?" Snape asked, although his voice sounded neutral, his eyes were clouded in suspicion.  
  
"Hermione didn't help me!" Harry quickly defended her.  
  
"Then would you care to explain to me why you, a below average student in my class, manages to ace this quiz?" Snape asked.  
  
"I studied," Harry shrugged, trying to sound normal.  
  
"Tell him to ask you a question," Tom said. He placed his ghost like hand on Harry's shoulder and once again, Harry got that pins and needles feeling. "I can give you the answer."  
  
"Perhaps professor, you'd like to ask me another question. one that wasn't on the quiz." Harry offered, trying to sound innocent. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have trusted Tom or tried to piss off Snape more than necessary. But he knew this was a rare chance to get one up on Snape and Tom hadn't seemed to let him down yet today.  
  
Snape narrowed his eyes but growled out. "What is the key ingredient in Malamere's invisibility potion?" If Harry had actually paid attention in potions, he would have known that they hadn't yet studied that potion. In fact they weren't set to start it until after Christmas.  
  
Harry tried to look like he was thinking the question over, trying to come up with an answer. Snape had just started to smirk his victory when Harry suddenly replied "Sunflower Seeds. Defiantly not a common ingredient for invisibility potions, or any potions at all, but Malamere discovered that when mixed with werewolf fur and batwings, you get the desired effect."  
  
Harry heard Hermione gasp before the whole class grew silent, waiting to see what Snape would do. Harry could see that Snape's left eye was twitching, a fact he would have found amusing, he Snape didn't look ready to kill. But how could he accuse him of cheating? Sure Harry shouldn't have known about that potion unless he had been reading ahead. But there was absolute silence while Harry thought over his answer.  
  
"Very well Potter, you've proved your point. Miss Brown! Next question." Snape turned away from Harry as Lavender read her answer. Of course Gryffindor didn't get any points for answering a "most difficult question".  
  
Harry felt eyes on him and he turned to look at a pouting Malfoy. Harry allowed himself a smirk, and raised an eyebrow at the blond.  
  
As revenge, when the time came to set the "randomly paired" couples out to work on the second part of the quiz, Harry was paired with Neville. Although Harry personally liked Neville, it was common knowledge that the boy couldn't brew one good potion. Of course it didn't matter today, because Harry had the instructions of Tom to follow. Just as the burner was turned off to let the perfect potion they made cool off, Tom said he had to leave.  
  
"I'm getting weak again. I don't think I'll be able to hold on for much longer."  
  
"OK, thanks a lot," Harry flashed him a bright smile which Tom returned.  
  
"Umm Harry.?" Harry turned to look at Neville. "Why are you thanking me? YOU did all the work!"  
  
^o^  
  
OK, OK, I know Tom doesn't sound evil. But I'll get him there. At the current moment, he's weak and wants Harry to trust him. For all of you who want your evil Tom Riddle back, he's on the way in future chapters (well most likely).  
  
And yes, if anyone noticed or is wondering, I did change my pen name. I like this one better. 


	3. Night chats

Although it didn't look like Harry was getting anymore sleep, his spirits seemed to have lightened. The bags under his eyes were still visible, but he was smiling like the old Harry that they knew and loved.  
  
The reason for this change in moods was due to none other than his new found invisible friend. For the past couple of nights, Tom had come to Harry in the dead of the night for a chat. Although, he still visited Harry during the day (mostly in potions) they rarely had a chance to talk. Harry knew his friends already worried enough about him, that he didn't want to add 'delusional' or 'talks to himself' to the list.  
  
So Tom would come at night, when everyone else was asleep and they would talk until either Tom ran out of energy or Harry became too tired. At first they talked about nothing of any real importance, weather, school work (Harry was actually starting to gain some potions knowledge thanks to Tom), it was only when Harry started talking about his passion for Quidditch, did they start getting more personal.  
  
They avoided topics like their less than happy childhoods, but whenever it did come up they knew that the other would understand and not pity them. Harry had been right about how similar he and Tom were. It was easy for Harry to forget who Tom was. He no longer thought of him as the memory of his parents' killer. No instead, he was just 'Tom: average teenage boy that wasn't solid' (which seemed like something "normal" for the wizard world anyway).  
  
The only time, they'd ever disagree and come close to fighting, was when Tom would make his opinions of muggle-borns known. It was at those times that Harry couldn't ignore who Tom Riddle was. Harry would argue anyone with the gifts should be aloud in. Tom stubbornly refused to agree and would state facts that Harry had heard enough times from Draco Malfoy and his goons. Harry would point out that Tom's father was a muggle, therefore making him a half-blood, something Tom also didn't feel should be aloud in Hogwarts. But Tom would say that he was an exception because he was the heir to Slytherin and had many natural magical talents.  
  
When Harry let himself examine this new relationship too closely, he was always left feeling guilty. He knew he was betraying quite a few of the people he cared about. Hagrid, Ginny, his parents just to name a few; but whenever he saw Tom, he couldn't bring himself to hate him fully. Sure he still hated Voldemort with a passion, but he had tricked himself into thinking that they weren't the same. He wouldn't go so far as to say Tom was innocent; after all he was the same memory that had used Ginny and tried to kill them both. But he told himself that he wasn't complete evil yet. He hadn't taken a life (unless you counted Moaning Mertel- but that wasn't technically him either, right?). And with Gryffindor hope, he thought that maybe his Tom would be "saved" from whatever made the real Tom go completely evil.  
  
He still hadn't told his friends about Tom. It started out that he himself didn't really believe Tom was really there. After all Harry hadn't been getting much sleep, it could have been the work of his over tired mind. But there was no way that Harry could have answered all those potions questions on his own, so he knew Tom was really there. His reason for not telling his friends now though, he wasn't sure of. Partly because of the guilt that he not only had secret rendezvous with him but that he actually enjoyed Tom's company. Also he knew that Hermione would figure out a way to make Tom disappear, and how could he tell his best friends that he wanted Tom to stick around?  
  
So whenever his friends would start to ask questions about how he was sleeping or his remarkable increase in potions knowledge (when Herm had yet to see him enter the library for study sessions), he would just shrug it off until they got the idea that he wasn't going to talk about it. It was easier to change subjects with Ron, but Hermione was never one to let anything go easily. He was still trying to rack his brain for something to tell her that would explain and satisfy her, but for the life of him couldn't think of anything good enough.  
  
But right now, it didn't matter. Because right now he was with Tom, listening to him tell the stories about how some of his old doormats used to play tricks on the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Although Harry felt bad for the poor students of that time, he was glad for the inspiration of new pranks Ron and he could pull on the Slytherins.  
  
"I think it's time I go," Tom said, the moment of the night which both of them hated.  
  
"Oh," Harry answered, trying to hide his disappointment behind a yawn. He peered out of his curtains to check the clock and couldn't believe it at first. "It's past 4:30 in the morning!"  
  
"Is it?" Tom asked and turned to get a look at the clock. "Humm, so it is. I think this is the longest, I've managed to stay." He seemed quite pleased by this.  
  
"Ugh! I've got classes in less than five hours!" Harry complained. It was bad enough trying to stay awake in class when he got a decent night's sleep (which didn't happen often), but trying to go on the most of four hour sleep? It wasn't going to be pretty.  
  
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept you." Tom apologized.  
  
"No, No! I don't mind at all." Harry quickly stated. "I like your company."  
  
At this Tom smiled but didn't say anything more on the subject.  
  
"Well goodnight Harry."  
  
"Goodnight Tom."  
  
Tom turned to leave but stopped and looked back at Harry almost uncertainly. Just as Harry was about to ask what was wrong, Tom leaned over and placed a kiss on his forehead, just to the side of his scar. There was the brief tingly feeling he usually got whenever Tom touched him, but Harry would have sworn that Tom felt almost solid for a moment. But it happened to fast, and Tom had already pulled away before Harry could examine it further. So Harry just figured it was his imagination.  
  
"Night," Tom said again with a smile before disappearing for the night.  
  
"Night." Harry answered back, but Tom was already gone and couldn't hear him. Harry sank back into his pillow and sighed. It didn't look like he would get those 4 hours of sleep.  
  
^o^  
  
Next chapter: Draco spies on Harry. Harry ponders his relationship with Tom. 


End file.
